I’m not a fussbudget about your word choice. I prefer that your words be nuanced and precise, but if they aren’t most of the time I let it go. ‘Cuz I’m a kindhearted English major, you know?
I didn’t used to be like this, but I’ve mellowed over the years because, ironically, people have disappointed me so many times that I’ve become charmingly cynical, with incredibly low expectations about what people do or how they do it.
And it’s from this jaded point of view that I’m going to tell you, my gentle readers, about a local realtor who upon selling a house, puts a sign out in front of it that says:
GOT BOUGHT!
Apparently the time-honored SOLD will not work. Nope, this realtor goes with what I can only assume is a play on the “Got Milk?” marketing campaign, combined with a good old-fashioned rhyme.
I get that this is a clever + seemingly harmless use of the English language.
And I also admit, openly and freely, that what I’m going to write in the next paragraph contradicts one of my favorite sayings: “do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?”
But in this particular case I’m going to declare that I. Want. To. Be. Right. I want to see SOLD signs. Now tell me, my gentle readers, is that asking too much?
I suppose a big old sign screaming “SELLED” would be worse, but I have to say that I’m not finding the marketing ploy very entertaining. Stick with SOLD. That’s all you need.
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Deb, yes “SELLED” would be worse. Clever of you to think of that! 🙂 But I’d have many second thoughts about using this realtor before signing a contract with him. It’s a ploy, alright.
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I just “got happy” that some people prefer to be right!! 🙂
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Radhika, you got me laughing here. Well said, my dear.
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They crossed a line, didn’t they?
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Maggie, they did cross a line. I don’t know why these signs bug me so, but they do. Of course the way real estate companies come and go, this one will be out of business tomorrow and the signs will be toast. I hope.
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Hell, my realtor didn’t even use sold signs. They didn’t have any. I was told it was something about looking busier with the sales sign still in place? It made no sense to me.
But “Got Bought?” Oh my word.
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Zazzy, no SOLD signs at all? How would anyone know that the realtor was a success if there were no SOLD signs around with his name on them? Makes no sense…
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I don’t appreciate the marketing technique at all. Does it drive sales? Who can say? I know that I personally wouldn’t want a GOT BOUGHT sign in front of my house. But you know how people are, thinking all attention is good attention. This definitely got your attention.
Did I ever mention that the first time we saw our house, someone had painted GREATFUL over the sink? You know I painted over it when we got the keys, right? We didn’t even live in it for another week. Sure, I painted bedrooms, but not before obliterating GREATFUL.
Amazing this house ever SOLD.
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joey, I’m sure that you’re right about people wanting attention, regardless of how it happens. The signs bother me and make me wonder what kind of realtor this person is. Not my kind, probably.
Why in the world did someone write GREATFUL over the sink? First wrong spelling, but what were they thinking by putting that word there? That’s weird and I’m glad that you obliterated it immediately upon ownership. Honestly, people…
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I dunno, Ally Bean, the world is a frightening place.
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Yes it is. Sometimes in the most picayune ways, too.
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Ha, you are not alone. This would have made me cringe too.
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Carrie, these signs pop up around here every so often. I usually overlook things like this, but for some reason these signs got my goat. They’re dumb. *mutter, mutter, mutter*
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You know me: that sign would make me scream. Every. Single. Time.
Something Bad might even happen to it.
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nance, I immediately thought of you the first time I saw one of these signs. I knew that you’d hate them. I think it’s a stupid way to get attention, but apparently whoever this realtor is must be doing well because I see these signs way too often. Wouldn’t you know?
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That nearly isn’t as bad as one realtor in my area (now no longer selling houses) that used signs that said “Lost another one to SOLD” when a house actually sold. It’s a play on the slogan that Ditech used back in the day (they’re still in business!) that had a rival loan company saying “Lost another one to Ditech.” The sign the realtor used was viewed in poor taste in a market where there was significantly more buyers than inventory. I’m not an expert on the English language, but I’m better than most in my mastery. It would behoove some to go back to school and brush up on the rules.
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Andrew, you win the worst SOLD sign sighting. Those are idiotic. I remember those Ditech commercials and cannot imagine why any realtor would think a play on their words would be a good marketing idea.
I agree that a refresher course in English would behoove many people– especially those who proudly display their names for all to see on signs along the way.
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I could sob on your shoulder.
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Gobblefunkist, thanks for your support in my time of real estate signage irritation. 🙄
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I’m still in mourning the fact that people are using Gift as a verb in everyday conversation now, so I don’t think I’d need to tell you which side of the For Sale sign I come down on.
Got Bought? Ugh, smack someone for me will ya!
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Norm, yes, I don’t like the way people use the word “gift” as a verb either. Nor do I like to hear anyone say that a person is “home officed” [meaning that they work from home]. All these people who use the English language in such sad ways could use a Gibbs smack upside the head. 😉
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Really ??? Have not seen that one here, yet. Not as bad as “good riddance”, which might be closer to the truth. Still…it does get your attention, so, there’s that.
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vanbytheriver, the signs have gotten my attention so there’s that. But would I ever use this realtor? Heck no. I still have a few wordy standards, by golly.
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Too funny. You sound like my husband and one of our neighbors who took issue with the name of a particular roofing contractor’s company. The sign reads Kustom. My husband and his friend maintain they wouldn’t trust anyone with their roof who doesn’t know that custom is spelled with c.
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Allie P, I tend to agree with your husband. Alternate spelling is problematic. Can I trust that the company actually knows the spelling is wrong & that they’re doing it as a clever marketing gimmick? And if they’re this lax about spelling, then will they be as carefree about roof installation? Hmmm…
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I mean, WHY?!? Just no. Granted, I regularly lose it over the local idiom “will you borrow me that?” so I’m the perfect audience for a rant about “got bought”.
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katie, you said it with: “just no.” I see no value in these signs. They got my attention, but there’s more to selling real estate than grabbing attention. Now about your “will you borrow me that?” I’ve not heard that one, but it doesn’t roll off the tongue, does it?
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I think it’s a Wisconsin thing. I never heard it before I moved here. The word lend doesn’t seem to be in the lexicon. Makes me crazy – even some of the smartest people I know use borrow/borrowed instead of lent or lend.
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That’s a fascinating use of “borrow” and one that takes some getting used to. I’m sure of it. Huh.
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Realtors are an odd bunch. They all fancy themselves marketers but I doubt if many have taken a course. “Got Sold” is wrong in so many ways. Maybe they are trying to appeal to those who are suspicious of pointy-headed followers of the rules of grammar.
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Janis, you said it! Realtors are odd ones, and seem to live in their own little bubbles. You may be right in that this realtor is trying to not be perceived as one of the elites, so he’s going all folksy to charm the regular people. Whatever the reasons, the signs bother me– but aren’t likely to disappear soon, I suspect. 😞
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Nothing that a black felt-tipped permanent marker can’t fix 😉
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😉 Well you have a point…
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That’s in the same category as printed materials for public dissemination with grammatical and spelling errors. Or the huge sign painted on a store window saying “Going out of bizness”. Okay, I made that one up.
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Carol, you’re right. These signs are exactly like error-filled printed materials. I can’t do a thing about the signs, and try to ignore them, but honestly what’s wrong with just saying SOLD? How difficult is that?
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Oh my word. You should have a sticker ready to put over those signs when you see them! I imagine as an English major this sort of transgression bothers you as much as typing errors bother me, the transcriptionist. Not that I don’t make mistakes once in a while of course. I work from home but I am definitely not “home officed!”
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Janet, I have to laugh at the idea of a sticker ready to “correct” the signs. Couldn’t you just see me getting caught in the act of defacing the sign? That’d be my luck. The “home officed” description is just plain weird, yet I hear people say it. I don’t know why it’s so difficult to say “work from home.” I don’t know many things…
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Clever of you to link this to the ‘Got Milk’ advertising campaign, Ally. I would have simply been confused!
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Donna, “got bought” is in a font that looks like the “got milk” font so I think that’s how I made the connection. It’s just a guess, really. Who knows for sure what these signs are all about! 😉
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That’s pretty horrible. Yikes.
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JT Twissel, it’s the darnedest thing to see one of these signs. SOLD is a perfectly nice word, so why not use it?
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I mean, even just BOUGHT would have been fine. Sigh.
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Akilah, exactly. BOUGHT would be fine. Not as great as SOLD, but it would be acceptable. However…
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Oh, our poor, abused language 😦 “SOLD” the way to go.
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bobcabkings, it makes one wonder, doesn’t it? SOLD is such a simple + direct word, but apparently not what this realtor wants to see.
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The realtor wants to be cute, and its kind of a branding thing.
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Yes, I’m sure you’re right. Branding. Maybe it is cute to some people, but it makes me grumble and snarl.
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There is simply nothing cute about this sign. It’s bad … but then again, the word ‘got’ makes me cringe at the best of times. I can’t think of a single instance when “got’ sounds appropriate to use. Maybe it’s just a personal bias.
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Joanne, I feel the same way about “got.” I don’t like the word. I realize that in the whole scheme of life what this realtor is doing makes no real difference to how I live my life, but boy do these signs bug me when I see ’em. Just. Say. SOLD.
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This is obviously a person trying to differentiate themselves, but unfortunately it’s not in a good way.
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Exactly. That explains it perfectly. And considering how quickly realtors come and go around here, this sign could be gone tomorrow forever. 🤞
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Perhaps this realtor should hire a marketer. Signs like this don’t make him look “upscale.” Looks more like a fired used car salesman.
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Kate, for all I know this realtor could be a fired used car salesman. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Real estate companies come and go around here, as do the people who work for them. Once upon a time there were recognizable company names, but now it’s a mishmash of people who do their own thing. Obviously.
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Well, the house got sold . . . but this post got read!
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nancy, yes there’s a lot of “got” going on here. 😉 What a sign, eh?
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“SOLD” is so 20th century. I’m not sure “GOT BOUGHT” is the logical successor, though…. maybe a sign that proclaims “WINNING!” or “OMG! SOLD!”
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evilsquirrel13, I like your “OMG! SOLD!” idea. Acronyms are so today, stupidly bringing the traditional SOLD sign up-to-date. 🙄
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No, it’s not too much to ask. Got Bought is totally lame, and doesn’t really rhyme, not truly, and the Got Milk? stuff always has a ? at the end, so this doesn’t even qualify as that. It just comes across as a realtor to whom English is a second language. Or a realtor who just moved there from West Virginia or the bayou of Louisiana. Lame. Lame. Lame.
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Betsy, lame is a perfect way to describe these signs and the “logic” that someone used to create them. Considering how quickly realtors show up around here, then disappear forever, I imagine these signs won’t last. But while they do, I plan on muttering loudly whenever I see one.
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As absolutely you should! 🙂
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OMG, this is a terrible sign of the times.
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In My Cluttered Attic, well said! Is this not the dumbest way of saying SOLD that you’ve ever heard of? Honestly, the things I put up with…
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Well if not the dumbest, then a close second and two-thirds. 😀
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I’ve not heard this way of expressing ‘sold’ before. It would sure scare me away as a prospective client.
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J, that’s what I thought, too. I don’t get it, but more importantly should I need a realtor this person is not going to be the one I chose.
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I. Would. Cringe. Sorry–I have to put my foot down on some of these crazy twists on words and phrases that our culture seems to be leaning toward. There should be a certain degree of professionalism in the working world.
If I saw that sign I would not EVER call upon that realtor for his/her services. I would be afraid they’d give me a tour of a house and say, “Got fireplace. Got 3 bedrooms. Got pool. Got an offer?”
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Kate, you said it: “There should be a certain degree of professionalism in the working world.” That’s my issue with these signs, although I didn’t say it as well as you did. I know that I’ll never consider this realtor to sell my house, and would be reluctant to buy a house that this realtor was selling.
I almost didn’t write about this subject because it’s a little thing, but then I thought that by not shining light on this bit of stupidity I’d be missing an opportunity to discuss wordplay, the pros and cons of said.
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I guess I’m just a basic person who prefers the simplicity of “Sold” versus the gimmicks that realtors perpetrate on us. It makes me distrust them even more.
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Margaret, I agree with you. It’s a gimmick and it caught my eye, BUT I don’t trust this realtor so how good for business is this stupid sign? Just saying…
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Sold….
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😉
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No need to try to be clever here. *Sold* is more than sufficient. 😇
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I agree with you. SOLD is my preferred way of saying a property has– oh, I don’t know— SOLD!
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Poor grammar does not inspire confidence. 🤯
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I agree, I’m not lining up to find this realtor. SOLD works so well, why mess with success?
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OK so I’m late to the curled-up lip, buggy-eyes and “you what?” reaction here … but any estate agent (UK for realtor) who tried to do that to me would end up spilling blood. Actual blood. But I’m one of those who still shouts “meeaand …?” at the screen for those who should be saying “X and I”. My excuse is that I’m old and grey and … you know, educated.
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deb, I can overlook many things, but this sign drives me bonkers. Realtors come and go around here, so I assume anyone with this sort of take on SOLD won’t last long. Or at least I hope so…
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For real? Got Bought? Wow. . .
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I kid you not, these are actual signs. It’s a local realtor who does this. Go figure.
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